


New Year's Day

by ashscribbles, beanie_betty



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic! Bughead, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 15:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13216785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashscribbles/pseuds/ashscribbles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanie_betty/pseuds/beanie_betty
Summary: There's glitter on the floor after the partyGirls carrying their shoes down in the lobbyCandle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floorYou and me from the night before butDon’t read the last pageBut I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you’re turning awayI want your midnightsBut I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day





	New Year's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year! (or New Year's eve depending on where you are!) I hope you enjoy this really really fluffy piece by the wonderful Addie (@beanie_betty) and I and here's to a wonderful 2018! As usual, find Addie on tumblr @beanie-betty and me @allthingsbughead. Please leave some comments or feedback, thank you!! Love you guys :-)

The last of the guests filtered out through the door of Betty and Jughead’s apartment while the couple bid their best friends goodbye. Veronica and Archie were flying out to Italy for a month as Veronica had to be there to work on an up and coming fashion line, while Archie just saw it as a chance to write songs for his second album in piece. 

Betty looked around at the mess in their apartment as Archie and Veronica, holding her six-inch heels in her hands, left to go home. There was glitter everywhere and confetti strewn all over the floor. Betty groaned. Why did she let Veronica convince her to throw a New Year’s Eve party at her apartment? 

Jughead chuckled in amusement at his girlfriend’s frustration and walked over to wrap her up in a loving embrace. Betty buried her face in his chest and he nuzzled his nose into her hair.

“We’ll take care of this tomorrow, okay?” Jughead said, though his words came out muffled.

Betty looked up and nodded, smiling as Jughead leaned down to press a kiss to her lips.  
——————————————————————  
When Betty woke the next morning, instinctively reaching out to grab Jughead, she found his side of the bed cold and empty. She frowned and sleepily trudged out of their room to find Jughead standing in their kitchen, flipping pancakes.

The sound of her slippers shuffling on the hard floor made Jughead turn around, and he smiled as he took in the sight of his sleepy girlfriend rubbing her eyes.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted her. She closed the rest of the distance between them and tucked herself into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she turned her face up to smile at him. 

“Happy New Year,” she half-whispered to him, with a voice still hoarse from sleep and from all the cheering the night before. 

Jughead leaned down and kissed her softly. “Happy New Year to you too.” His unoccupied hand cupped her cheek, and then grazed down her back as her mouth moved languidly against his. His hand eventually settled on her lower back, pressing her closer to him. 

Betty broke away from him and said with a giggle, “You’d better flip that.” She gestured to the pancake he had left unattended in the pan.

“Shit!”

She broke away from him, laughing, as he frantically tried to salvage his creation. 

“This is your fault for distracting me,” he growled, with a frown on his face but with a smile in his eyes. 

Betty clasped her hands together innocently and said, “Who, me? Never.” She stood on her tiptoes to give him another quick kiss and then left the room, saying, “I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to reassess the damage.”

A few minutes later, Jughead walked out of the kitchen to find Betty standing in the middle of their living room with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face, surveying the room. If it were anyone else, it would have looked quite intimidating. But this was Betty Cooper, and her scrunched up face only made him laugh, which he quickly tried to stifle. Her messy topknot (which he affectionately referred to as her “pineapple hairdo”) and her bunny pyjamas didn’t help the decidedly non-threatening image.

He walked up behind her, slipped his hands around her waist, and rested his chin on the top of her head, but sputtered when the spiky strands of hair that had come loose from her topknot tickled his nose.

“How did this happen again?” Betty sighed, ignoring his muttering about her “stupid beautiful hair”. 

“You know Veronica, she’s pretty persuasive,” Jughead said with a chuckle. “Oh Betty, darling,” he said in a high-pitched voice, “poor Archie and I have to fly out to Italy first thing in the morning, so we can’t possibly host the New Years Eve party this year! Such an unfortunate situation!” 

Betty turned around and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Stop it.”

“And we all know you can’t say no when there’s a chance to help someone out,” Jughead said with a knowing smirk. “You’re too good for your own good.”

“Don’t blame this on me!” Betty exclaimed in mock defensiveness. “You said yes as well.” 

“Yeah, well, I’m easily persuaded when there’s food involved,” he winked at her.

“Don’t I know it.” 

“What can I say, I’m a simple man.” 

Betty snorted and untangled herself from his arms. She bent down to pick up an empty wine glass from the table, saying, “Come on. This apartment isn’t going to clean itself.” 

“That would be pretty cool though, don’t you think, love? Where are the scientists at with that?” Jughead said, his voice getting further away as he left the room. Betty rolled her eyes and shook her head, but could help the grin that spread across her face.

“I don’t know, dear. If I meet a scientist, I’ll ask them.”

She went into the kitchen and got a plastic bag, and returned to the living room to start clearing rubbish into it. “Jug, are you going to help me?” she called, unsure of where he had gone. 

Jughead walked back into the room. “Yeah, of course. I was just getting this,” he held out their small Bluetooth speaker in his hand. “I know you think jobs are more fun when there’s music involved.” 

Betty smiled at his thoughtfulness. She took the speaker from his hand and stood on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”  
He smiled down at her and reached out to squeeze her hand. “I promise I’ll help clean up soon, I’m just going to finish getting breakfast ready, okay?” She nodded, and he slipped back into the kitchen. 

Betty connected her phone, and soon the sound of one of their shared playlists filtered through the apartment. Some of his music, some of hers. It was a good compromise for situations like road trips, and resolved their (affectionate) debates about whose music to play. Motivated by the music, Betty finally continued picking up the remnants of yesterday’s party. She picked up so many bottles and red cups that she lost count within the first five minutes of cleaning up.

How much could these people drink in one night?

After she had finally finished picking up all the bottles and plastic cups, she started sweeping all the glitter and confetti up. As she swept the floor, she danced around the living room, occasionally using the broom as a microphone as she sung to whatever song was playing from the speakers. Currently, it was Bohemian Rhapsody. 

When Jughead finished laying out the table for their breakfast, he walked out to find his beautiful girlfriend of eight years swaying to the music while sweeping the floor. His heart swelled at the simple domesticity. 

“Jug, can you get those down for me?” Jughead followed her pointing finger to a clump of paper streamers that had somehow gotten stuck on the curtain railing. “I can’t reach them,” she confessed. 

Jughead chuckled at the mental image of Betty on her tiptoes, jumping up to try and grab the streamers down. “Cute.” 

“Shut up,” Betty grumbled. 

He reached up and pulled the streamers down, before wadding them up into a ball and tossing them at Betty. She managed to catch them before they hit her and stuffed them into the bag of rubbish. 

“Thanks darling, you’re very useful,” she grinned at him. 

“I know. What else would you keep me around for?” 

“Not much.” 

“Rude.” Jughead strode across the room to her and swept her into his arms, lifting her off the ground. She giggled as he pouted, “I knew you were just using me for my height advantage.”

She brushed the dark curls out of his eyes and said with a smirk, “Just kidding. You know I use you for a lot of other useful things too. Like your pancake making skills.” 

Jughead rolled his eyes. She laughed and held his face in her hands, holding him still so she could gently press her lips to his. He smiled against her mouth and kissed her back, holding her tightly around her waist so she wouldn’t slip out of his grasp. 

“Speaking of pancakes,” Jughead mumbled against Betty’s lips. 

She threw her head back and gave an exaggerated sigh. “Of course you’re thinking about food while we’re having a moment.” 

“Hey, I worked hard on them,” Jughead defended himself. “They’re the only thing I can make better than you can, let me have this.” 

“That’s fair.” Betty scissor-kicked her legs lightly as a signal for him to put her down. “Come on then, let’s eat.” 

Jughead followed her to the table and pulled out her chair for her. “My lady.” 

“Thanks,” Betty grinned as she sat down. He took his place on the other side of the table and pushed the stack of pancakes toward her. “Hope they’re not too cold.” 

“They look great, darling, thank you,” Betty said gratefully. “I can’t believe you passed on a sleep-in to make me breakfast.”

“Ah yes, the sacrifices a man makes for love,” Jughead sighed dramatically as he took his turn to heap pancakes into his plate, not stopping until his stack was twice as tall as Betty’s. She shook her head in disbelief, still amazed at the amount of food he was able to put away, even after all their years of dating. 

As they ate, they recounted the antics of the previous night, taking turns to share moments of particular noteworthiness (“How funny was Reggie’s toast to this year?” “Not as funny as Archie being so drunk that he accidentally counted down to 11pm instead of midnight.”). 

Eventually, when their plates were long empty and they had laughed nearly to the point of tears, Betty sighed and pushed back from the table. 

“What a night.” She beckoned for Jughead to pass her his plate, and they both stood up and moved to the kitchen to clean up. She insisted on washing the dishes since he had made breakfast, but he stood by her side to dry them and pack them away. 

When they were finished and the kitchen was spotless, Betty took the tea towel from Jughead’s hand and threw it onto the bench. 

“Come on, let’s get the rest of this cleaning up done.” She took his hands and dragged him back through to the living room.

Betty resumed her previous task of sweeping the floor while Jughead went to find their mop to mop up stains that he did not want to know the story behind. As he returned with the mop, he accidentally kicked something. He looked down and realised it was a polaroid. He smiled as he picked it up to examine it. It was a picture of Betty and him, with their foreheads together. Betty was smiling with her eyes closed, hands cupping his face while he looked at her in complete and utter adoration with his hands around her waist, pulling her close. This picture was no doubt taken by Veronica. He looked up to find Betty dancing around in their living room to the music like she was before, and he felt a small smile spread across his face. 

He couldn’t wait any more. 

He went into their bedroom to get what he needed before re-emerging again. 

“Betts, love?” he started.

She looked up at the sudden call from Jughead, a little startled. Jughead took a few big strides to reach her before he pressed a kiss to her forehead and got down on one knee. Betty’s hand flew to her mouth to muffle her gasp. 

“Betts, I know we’re literally in our pajamas right now but I couldn’t hold it off any longer. I was planning to do this tonight but now just felt like the perfect time to do thi-” he rambled. 

“Jug, I’m holding a broom!” Betty exclaimed tearfully, as she let a few giggles escape. 

“Babe, I’m on a roll here, so just put down the broom and let me finish my romantic speech.” He smiled in amusement, his heart pounding erratically in his chest. He took a shuddering breath.

“We’ve been together for almost 8 years now and so many things around us have changed, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for you. I didn’t think it was possible, Betty Cooper, but I love you more and more each day. Will you do me the honour of making me the happiest man alive and marrying me?” He finished off with a small smile, revealing the little box which he opened to reveal a sparkling ring. 

“Yes Jug, a million times yes!” Betty threw the broom on the floor beside her before leaping into Jughead’s arms. He stumbled backwards at the impact and ended up sitting sprawled on the floor with Betty in his lap, her arms locked around his neck. He held the ring securely in his hand so he didn’t drop it, and held tightly to her waist with the other hand. Betty pulled back so they could look at each other. Jughead brought his hand up from her waist to brush her messy hair off her face. She had tears running down her cheeks and he used his thumb to gently wipe them away. 

Betty smiled, and whispered, “I love you so much.”

Jughead leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead again. “I love you so much too. More than life itself.” He grinned at her. “And I always want to be the one who’s cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day.”

Betty laughed and placed both of her hands on his cheeks, pulling him in to kiss him soundly. “Well, just keep making me pancakes, and you’ve got yourself a deal, Jones. But I think we should let Veronica reclaim the hostess role from now on!”

“You know, I think that’s a good plan.”


End file.
